The beginning of a new year is a good time to take stock and make plans and reslutions for the rest of the year.
As a new year begins it is good to stop and reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the one just beginning. In this meditation, following a custom of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, we:
Give thanks for the blessings of the past year, including the crosses God has sent us
Ask pardon for our many failings
Ask God to help us carry out our new year’s resolutions to grow in holiness
Our Lady is our intercessor. And, we can ask her to intercede for us using the rosary.
The rosary is a beautiful prayer, in which we honour Our Lady in the Hail Marys and we meditate on the life of Christ in the mysteries. It is also a powerful prayer, which has brought about many great and small blessings over the centuries. In this meditation we consider how:
St Dominic used the rosary to win over the heretics
Our holy mother, Mary, comforted our Lord at the foot of the cross.
In the Litany of Loreto we call Our Lady “Comforter of the afflicted”. With unspeakable love she comforted Jesus on the Cross at Calvary and she accompanies us in our afflictions. In this meditation we consider how:
Because of her freedom from sin Mary was able to love like no other
As prophesied by Simeon, Mary was destined to suffer much because she loved much
Mary suffered in her heart when Jesus was lost in the temple, at the wedding feast of Cana and especially at Calvary
Mary suffered intensely at Calvary, to the point where St Bernard calls her truly a martyr
The Sequence of the Mass of Our Lady of Sorrrows records this suffering in a moving way
As our mother, Mary loves us and comforts us in our afflictions
With the occasion of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross we consider how Christ invites us to take up our own cross and follow him. We cannot be soft and comfort seeking if we want to be Christ’s followers. Rather we must be strong willed in order to be effective in bringing Christ to others. In this meditation we consider:
Christ’s exaltation on taking up his cross
His invitation to us follow him
The difficulties we face in the world, the flesh and the devil
The need to be strong willed and how we can grow in fortitude
The example of the Paralympians
Thoughts of St Josemaria in his books The Wayand Furrow
Here we see Mary and Martha serving Jesus. We note Martha holding a basket with bread and Mary sitting at His feet listening.
We are all familiar with the account of Mary and Martha, with Mary sitting at Our Lord’s feet while her sister Martha prepares the meal. We too would love to sit and listen to Jesus but we are busy about many things like Martha. In this meditation we see how our life is essentially like that of Martha, but in order to be a good Martha we must also be Mary. Using many texts of St Josemaria Escriva‘s book Furrow, we consider:
The Second Vatican Council’s teaching that the role of the Christian lay person is to engage in the affairs of the world and order them according to the law of God.
We cannot waste our time but should be busy like Martha.
We should do what God is asking of us, not what we feel like.
We should work well, like Martha.
We should do everything for Jesus, like Martha.
In order to do this we must spend some time each day in prayer like Mary.
We are called to be witnesses to Christ. Here we see our Lorde sending out his disciples.
Christ has called all the baptised and sent us out to be his witnesses in the world, to bear fruit that will abide. If we are to fulfill this mission we must be branches very much united to the vine. We do this through our life of prayer, following a daily plan. In this meditation we will consider:
Our calling to be witnesses for Christ
How we must be branches united to the vine
The need for a daily plan of spiritual activities, just as we have a daily plan of meals, work, relaxation and sleep
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a good example to follow in this Jubilee Year of Mercy
In this Jubilee Year of Mercy the parable of the Good Samaritan has much to tell us. It offers food for thought on how we can be a Good Samaritan to those around us. In this meditation we will consider:
The question of the lawyer to Jesus on what he must do to inherit eternal life and the importance of the question for everyone
How love for God and love for our neighbour are related
How our neighbour is everyone around us, no matter what their religion, race or nationality
When the soldier pierced the heart of Christ as he hung on the cross, the spear pierced the heart of Mary too. Her heart and his were one. In this meditation we consider how:
Mary pondered the mysteries of Christ in her heart
Her heart and his were united throughout their lives
Many think only a few extraordinary people are called to sanctity and that it is sufficient for the rest to limit themselves to being good. But God has loved everyone and he wants all to love him with their whole heart, soul, mind and strength. All are called to sanctity and sanctity is within the reach of all. In this meditation we will consider how:
God has called each and everyone from all eternity to fulfill a mission
Christ loves everyone and he wants all to love him in return
To bear fruit we must be branches very united to the vine who is Christ
We are united to Christ through prayer, penance, the sacraments and fulfilling his will
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